Baking Unit Converter
Convert between cups, grams, ounces, and tablespoons for common baking ingredients.
Volume measurements for baking are convenient but notoriously inconsistent. A loosely scooped cup of flour can weigh 110 grams; a firmly packed one can weigh 160 grams, a 45% difference that will noticeably affect the result. I keep a kitchen scale on the counter and use grams for anything where precision matters. This converter bridges the gap when a recipe gives cups and I want grams.
The single biggest improvement most home bakers can make is switching from cups to grams using a kitchen scale. Accuracy improves dramatically, cleanup is easier, and scaling recipes becomes trivial.
Why volume measurements are unreliable for baking
Baking is chemistry. The ratio of flour to liquid to leavening determines whether a cake rises or collapses, whether cookies spread or hold shape, whether bread has structure or crumbles. Volume measurements introduce variability at every step: how flour is scooped (dip vs spoon-and-level), humidity (flour absorbs moisture), settling during shipping, and individual measuring cup calibration all affect the actual mass in a "cup." Weight-based measurements eliminate all of this variability.
The gram values in this converter
The gram weights for each ingredient are based on the most commonly cited standard values, primarily sourced from King Arthur Baking Company's weight charts (widely considered the industry standard for US baking) and the USDA nutrient database. Different sources disagree by 5–10% on some ingredients, if a specific recipe states a gram weight, use that over this converter's value.
Flour specifically
All-purpose flour is listed here at 120 grams per cup using the spoon-and-level method (spoon flour into the measuring cup, level off the top). The dip method (scoop the cup directly into the flour bag) can produce 140–160 grams per cup. King Arthur recipes use the spoon-and-level method. If a recipe doesn't specify, spoon-and-level is standard.
Butter conversions
Butter in US recipes is often specified in tablespoons or sticks. One stick of butter is 8 tablespoons, 4 oz, 113 grams, or ½ cup. European recipes often specify butter in grams. This converter handles butter in all common units.
Frequently asked questions
Does temperature affect weight conversions?
For solids like flour and sugar, no, weight is independent of temperature. For liquids and fats, density varies slightly with temperature, which affects volume-to-weight conversions. Butter at room temperature vs cold behaves differently in a recipe, but the weight is the same.
What about liquid ingredients?
Water is 236 grams per cup (1 cup = 236 mL, water density ≈ 1 g/mL). Milk is slightly denser (~244 g/cup). Most liquid conversions in baking are close enough to water that a 1:1 gram-to-mL conversion works for planning. This converter covers common dry and semi-solid baking ingredients, use a liquid measuring cup with mL markings for liquids.
My recipe uses "packed" brown sugar. How does that differ?
Packed brown sugar is compressed into the measuring cup until solid. This converter uses the packed standard (approximately 220 grams per cup). If your recipe says "loosely packed," reduce by about 15%.